To understand why total forgiveness seems almost impossible, we need to ask why we value the concept of forgiveness in the first place, and look at what motivates us to run from it or embrace it...depending upon which end of an issue we see ourselves.

Have you ever forgiven anyone? You may quickly say 'Yes', which indicates you still remember the issue, which means it is not totally forgotten...and so therefore, it is not truly forgiven. We say we forgive, but we rarely do. We 'excuse', we 'permit', we 'look past', we 'understand', we 'learn to live with', but we never really forgive. We simply exchange our dislike of an event with the hope of returning to more pleasant times.

"To understand why total forgiveness seems almost impossible, we need to ask why we value the concept of forgiveness in the first place, and look at what motivates us to run from it or embrace it...depending upon which end of an issue we see ourselves."

What then, would you have to do to forgive...I mean to truly forgive? Is it possible to forgive while not totally forgetting the problem that created the reason for forgiveness in the first place? How do you forgive? How do I forgive? How does God forgive?

To understand why total forgiveness seems almost impossible, or at least, very difficult, we need to ask why we value the concept of forgiveness in the first place. We need to look at what motivates us to either run from it or embrace it...depending upon which end of the problem we see ourselves. Let's tear apart the whole concept of forgiveness and look at it truly...perhaps for the first time.

What triggers the need to forgive or to be forgiven?
Having done something wrong, you will experience the sensation of guilt. It might not happen immediately...and it may take some time, but once you have done something wrong, the door is open for you to eventually feel guilty about it. The understanding of guilt is totally necessary for you to be on either side of the forgiving exchange.

Now, having embraced the concepts of doing a 'wrong' or 'bad' thing and then associating them with guilt, this opens the door for multiple levels of forgiveness to exist. For example, once the wrong deed has occurred, an opportunity suddenly appears for somebody to forgive you, and you can also forgive yourself, and ultimately, God has the option to forgive you as well.

What triggers the sensation of guilt?
Somewhere, we were taught that certain things were 'right' and certain things were 'wrong'. Later, we then create connections to events we experience and use our past examples of right and wrong to inform us of whether our actions or the actions of the people around us are proper. In time, we can easily see who has done something wrong and we know they are guilty and should admit to their crime and admit they are guilty. This then opens the door for us to forgive them and for them to forgive themselves and then for God to eventually forgive them.

Our society and many religious structures look upon guilt as a mighty and necessary force that is used to help us maintain an orderly society. It can be difficult seeing how our world could exist without us taking turns being either the receiver or the distributor of guilt. What else could possibly motivate anyone to desire change?

What if you were taught about right and wrong, in error?
Imagine being in a country where it is 'wrong' for a woman to show her face in public. Imagine a situation where it is 'wrong' to cross the boundary from one country to another when you are not welcome. Imagine a moment where it is 'wrong' to kill another person. Imagine a moment where it is 'wrong' to purposely exceed the speed limit while driving.

Imagine being in a country where it is 'not wrong' for a woman to show her face in public. Imagine a situation where it is 'not wrong' to cross the boundary from one country to another because you are welcome. Imagine a moment where it is 'not wrong' to kill another person who is attacking you. Imagine a moment where it is 'not wrong' to purposely exceed the speed limit while driving, so that lives may be saved.

These examples clearly show how something that is 'wrong' in one instance, is 'not wrong' in another instance...which means our concepts of right and wrong are not based upon any specific truth, but solely upon the perception of the moment. With this being the case, 'being right' or 'being wrong' are totally transient in the eye of the beholder and have no absolute state of being. Truth is eternal and unchangeable, so from an eternal and unchangeable spiritual point of view, this means the whole concept of right and wrong is not real and simply does not exist.

What if you never did anything wrong?
If the concept of 'right and wrong' is not a solid spiritual truth, since they change with perception, then these concepts are neither seen, experienced nor even known to God. God has no concept of right or wrong. He knows only love, he gives only love and he receives only love.

You have never done anything wrong. You are an eternal, loving being that is created in the image and likeness of God and you have all the same strengths and powers as does he. You too are a creator. The only difference between you and God our Father is that he created us. Other than that, we are identical.

I know it's hard to see that you are like God or that Hitler was like God or that your annoying neighbor is like God....but we are currently viewing things from an extremely narrow and erroneous perception...but just as with the concept of right and wrong, what we are seeing and believing about ourselves and those around us has no real meaning and is based only upon what we believe is real and has absolutely nothing to do with what God knows is real.

So, if there is nothing 'wrong' with killing, should we just let the world run amok with violence and terror and do nothing to stop it? In a perfect world, you would not fear that you had to stop it, but likewise, in a perfect world, the concept of 'wrong' or 'fear' would not exist in the first place and no threats would be perceived. To get past the concepts of 'right and wrong' and their control through guilt and fear, it would be helpful to see that all improper behavior and events are mistakes that occur due to our attempt to make decisions separate from God. We are lost without him, but this does not make us bad, it just makes us lost, frightened and mistaken.

Instead of using the perception tainted variables of 'being wrong' to judge ourselves and our brothers, let's instead look at improper events simply as 'mistakes'. For example, if I were on a train to Philadelphia and happened to mention to a fellow passenger about how excited I was to be heading for Chicago, it would be obvious to this brother that I had made a mistake and had gotten on the improper train. This does not make me bad. This does not require any sensation of guilt and this does not require forgiveness. All this requires is that I get off that train and get on the proper train.

When the brother informs me of my mistake, he has not judged me, but is simply informing me of an error I have made. Since I have done nothing wrong, there is no reason to associate guilt or fear with what the brother tells me. Being open for truth, I will not feel attacked and I will feel no need to defend my mistake. Instead, I will be happy and thankful to the brother for helping me see and undo the mistake.

Truth frees because there is no judgment of any kind and it eliminates the need to be forgiven since it already shows you as the perfect Son of God that you are. It's sole purpose is to lead you back to our Father because you will know you are worthy of him. Likewise, guilt binds because it is dependent upon judgment and it requires your need to be forgiven since it seemingly shows you as the sinful subject of God that you think you are. It's sole purpose is to distance you from our Father because you will think you are unworthy of him.

Will God Ever Forgive You?
God has never seen that we have done anything 'right' or 'wrong' with respect to anything we perceive while we believe we are separate from him. We are not separate from him. All he knows is that we have made a mistake and he is patiently waiting for us to see the error and change our direction. Once we start going in the proper direction which leads back to him, we will get closer each day to the final moment where we once again know and experience only absolute truth and unconditional love.

God will never forgive you because he has never perceived you as having done something 'wrong' in the first place. He has never saddled you with 'guilt' and he has never required, asked or hinted at your need to ask his forgiveness because there is simply nothing to forgive. All concepts and origins of guilt, sin, right, wrong, etc, are of our own making and are based upon fear, which should be a clear sign that these things are not from our God of love since he has never taken advantage of fear to motivate us or teach us. Only man and his mistaken perceptions have created these concepts of God...but they are not true. They are simply errors of thinking.

To change your course, all you need to do is to be open to see where you may be mistaken and then the Holy Spirit will heal your mind and will heal your perception of this world and of yourself. He will teach you that to learn to forgive while living here, is a step towards seeing more clearly and this will help you embrace peace. The final lesson he will teach you is that since nobody has ever done anything other than make mistakes, including yourself, there is really nothing at all to forgive in the first place.

Forgiveness is simply a tool we can use to help us see our brothers more truthfully until we finally see them as God sees them. When this happens, we will know we are all perfect Sons of God that simply experienced a temporary error in thinking when we thought we could create separate from God our Source. We were mistaken, and it's as simple as that.